Hughes arrived at Victoria Park with the club rock-bottom of League One and without a win in their previous 16 matches. His first game in charge ended in a 5-0 home defeat to Coventry.

Pools remain bottom after his first 11 games in charge, but Hughes will not give up on his side's survival chances, which have been given a boost with a recent win at Sheffield United and Saturday's 3-1 success at Portsmouth.

"I've had to change my style and approach," Hughes said. "I've come into a team that was suffering from a lack of confidence. There was trepidation in their play, so there was no point coming in with a big stick.

"I've had to let them understand that I've been there as a player and as manager now the only way out is to work very hard and the players have certainly done that.

"I've found it very difficult to put my stamp on the team due to outside factors. If it's not been heavy rain and floods it's been snow and this has affected our preparation, making it hard to get a period of continuity and consistency.

"But there are signs we're getting there. If we can keep a settled side and get a bit of luck to turn draws into wins, confidence will return and we can try and get some momentum going."

Readers' Comments

I

t's wrong to be making a joke out of Bender's name at the expense of gay people. It's the kind of childish, uncivilised thing that Football365 would deride and ridicule if it was another media outlet saying. Why is there a need for jokes like this? Does it make your writers feel like men? F365 might suggest that I 'lighten up', but it is genuinely traumatic for people who have been oppressed all their lives to be the butt of jokes, and to be told...

ou can't blame De Gea for wanting to leave, he has enough to do in front of goal as it is as well as taking on the role of Man Utd's version of Derek Acorah in trying to contact and organise a defence that isn't there.